Friday, 4 May 2012

Tea of the Day!

I REALLY wanted to love this tea. I've not had the best of luck with Blueberry flavored teas, and I really wanted this one to come through for me. Plus, it is really pretty! The dried tea gave off a very sweet aroma, so I was very hopeful, and when steeped the water came out a lovely dark honey color! Unfortunately, there was not much of an aroma after it had been steeped - it just smelled like plain tea (and a little weak at that). The taste was... well, it took me three cups (which was about how many my sample made, and yes, I use an actual tea cup, with saucer, for this kind of intense research. None of that mug nonsense.) to even figure out what it tasted like. After it left my mouth, I couldn't describe it because I almost couldn't remember it! After a while I came to terms with a distinct sourness in the background with a hint of very full sweetness. I thought that if I steeped it longer, maybe that would come through. The sourness is definitely from the pomegranate, but the blueberry is just not strong enough to pull it out of the background and make it a flavor, leaving it instead as more of an almost aftertaste. And then it's gone. *sigh*

Next on the Menu: Failed adventures in Blueberry Teas!

Flavored Teas:
Tea naturally absorbed the smoke of campfires when it was transported overland in caravans. Many of the people who drank this tea took to the smoky flavor imparted by the fires.

Today, Lapsang souchong is a black tea grown in China's Fujian Province (souchong is the Chinese name for a tea with large leaves) and smoked over fresh pinewood. The particular soil and climate of the area, the resin in the pinewood, and the smoke give the tea its distinctive taste. Although infrequently drunk in China, it is often mixed with other teas to produce the blend known as Russian Caravan.
-All About Tea Knowledge Cards

Tea pot is on, the cups are waiting,
My favorite chairs anticipating,
No matter what I have to do,
My friend there's always time for you.
~Anonymous